“Business and academia cannot live in parallel worlds”

Having worked as a consultant on large research projects for influential clients, Yuliya Shymko moved into teaching and research some four years ago. Fascinated by models and theories generally considered too complicated or irrelevant by practitioners, she found that through teaching she could test out her twist on these ideas. “Teaching gives you a chance to step down from your ivory research tower and validate your work. You can see how people react to ideas and whether they can be made more realistic and usable, spun around and made significant. You can test whether the theory really has any kind of resonance with the people who would use it. We cannot live in parallel worlds as academics and managers. It’s of primary importance to talk about research in the classroom and students like those at Vlerick can give constructive feedback on it. It’s a two-way relationship in which we get to learn from each other.

“Vlerick has an intellectually invigorating environment and a palpable team spirit. Collaboration in a team like this advances scientific knowledge. With peer reviews, it’s not a case of defending your ideas, but of strengthening them. Sometimes we love our own ideas too much to be able to judge them critically, but constructive criticism makes them better. At the end of the day, it’s not about you as a researcher; it’s about how rigorous your work is. And the rigour of your work depends on how well criticised it has been – by peers and business.”